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Background

Louise Stephens, a graduate of the University of Arizona School of Information, worked for Glendale Public Library for 30 years, retiring in January 2007. During that time she served as a children’s librarian and library manager. Throughout her career, Louise was active in the Arizona Library Association, serving as its Association President, Public Library Division President, and Awards Chair at various times. In 2001 she was named the association’s Librarian of the Year, and in 2007, she received the Rosenzweig Award for distinguished service. Louise advocated for libraries as a centerpiece of a community as well as the need to network with other librarians as the forces to keep those institutions running. Louise passed away in July 2007, and an endowed scholarship was established in her memory. The Arizona Library Association is charged with administering the scholarship fund, endowed with the University of Arizona Foundation.

Donate

Donations for the scholarship endowment are accepted continuously. Donate online or mail a check payable to the Arizona Library Association, with "Stephens Scholarship" in the subject line to:

Criteria

Submit a statement of no more than two (2) pages, stating why you chose librarianship as a career, outlining your career goals, and describing the importance of involvement in professional associations as it relates to librarianship.

Submit evidence of admission and enrollment to School of Information/UA (acceptance letter and unofficial transcripts, if applicable)

Undergraduate transcripts (unofficial is acceptable)

2 letters of recommendation, speaking to the applicant’s ability and promise as a future library professional.

Terms of Scholarship

The recipient will commit to continued membership in AzLA throughout School of Information program.

The recipient will commit to attend the AzLA Conference. The recipient will be recognized at the annual conference’s awards function.

Deadline for Application

The scholarship has been awarded for 2016. Applications for next year will open in June 2017.

Scholarship Award Committee

The scholarship award committee will review all applications and make a recommendation to the AzLA Board. The AzLA Board will approve the candidate for the scholarship annually at its July Board meeting.

The scholarship award committee is comprised of:

One Stephens/Fanchaly Family Member

Two AzLA Executive Board Members

One AzLA-SIRLS Advisory Committee Member

One Glendale Public Libraries Librarian

The scholarship award committee has evaluated past candidates based on the following rubric.

Items to Evaluate

Poor1 Point

Satisfactory
2 Points

Excellent
3 Points

Total Points

Written Statement

Does not outline career goals

Does not give reason why profession was chosen

Does not address the relationship of professional associations to librarianship

Contains more than 1 misspelling or grammatical error

Partially outlines career goals

Gives partial reason why profession was chosen

Partially addresses the relationship of professional associations to librarianship

Contains 1 misspelling or grammatical error

Clearly outlines career goals

Gives clear reason(s) why profession was chosen

Clearly addresses the relationship of professional associations to librarianship

Error free and grammatically correct

Academic Record

Academic record is problematic and does not indicate potential of a satisfactory career path.

Academic record is sound and indicates potential of a satisfactory career path.

Academic record is outstanding and indicates potential of a excellent career path.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation indicate more weaknesses than strengths in the applicant